


Tomorrow, I’ll miss you.

by je000nghan



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Jeonghan & Joshua after Seventeen, M/M, Marriage, Married Couple, Married Life, Parents, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:47:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23213506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/je000nghan/pseuds/je000nghan
Summary: There is so much to learn about parenting from Jeonghan & Joshua. To begin with, trust when they posit that a day is never enough for two people who have too much love to give to their household.
Relationships: Hong Jisoo | Joshua & Yoon Jeonghan, Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Yoon Jeonghan
Comments: 12
Kudos: 79





	Tomorrow, I’ll miss you.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hourlyyoonhong](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hourlyyoonhong/gifts).



> disclaimer: mentions of the technicalities of parenting is minimal, and this work tackles jeonghan and joshua as parents more than anything. because i am Not a parent, i just know so much from being an aunt, from watching the return of superman, and from being... a dog mom. lmao
> 
> ANYWAYS, ENJOY !!!!!

Jeonghan & Joshua’s parenting dynamics are quite easy to discern from their respective behaviors considering both, along with Seungcheol, are the eldest hyungs in Seventeen — it’s assumed in the way they treat their dongsaengs.

There’s Jeonghan who plays so well with everybody, championing physical games & outsmarting mind tricks with his playful competitiveness; the perfect embodiment of a sweet subjugator — and as a parent, the kind of father who lets his children play rough, watching little noises produced by babies’ cries from falling hard on the floor or being teased with a stolen toy.

And then, there’s Joshua who only had to learn to agree with this kind of strength training and sportsmanship… which to him, with honesty, was not very easy.

Joshua was the type to descend from household hierarchy, playing with his dongsaengs like they’re same-aged friends, enabling chaos when chaos did not have to demand mature intervention.

But Joshua was a stern observer, approaching his dongsaengs in quiet ways that always emanate the chi of companionship and comfort much like a hug even when Joshua would only stand beside them, listening to their silent cries, and just _being there_ _for them._

Easy to say, Jeonghan’s affection was more overt — too overt, sometimes Joshua thinks it gets too rough for their children.

 _“They’re not emancipated children, Jeonghan,”_ Joshua scolds his husband one day, carrying their older child in his arms, one hand shielding the back of the child’s head, holding it as she cries on his shoulder. _“Why would you instigate a fight between our children? We should be teaching them to get along!”_

It’s not very common for Joshua to manifest anger like he did that day, especially when he has practiced years of bottling up ill feelings until they disappear like red fuels evaporating into a cloud of peace above him. And to think that patience was a virtue greatly improved with becoming a parent, when Joshua gets angry, he must have had enough.

Jeonghan gives up a block held between his fingers, letting their younger child take it to complete his imaginary swimming pool of jenga blocks assembled on the floor (nowhere close to the way it was meant to be played). Joshua almost rolls his eyes if not for the way their little Hanji lights up as he “completes” his said imaginary swimming pool.

 _“I didn’t instigate anything, love,”_ Jeonghan retorts ever so gently, saddened with the way his daughter cries in his husband’s arms maybe because it could be a little true he didn’t let their son play fair. _“Shuji is a lot more understanding than Hanji, it’s hard to let them play together when none of them really knows how to play the game.”_

True enough, while Hanji built swimming pools with the blocks, Shuji tried to create a community with them.

_“This doesn’t justify you creating a match between, Han.”_

_“Baby, I tried to make them share, but you know how Hanji is… calls himself a ‘ bad boy’. Besides, it was a fair game. The bad boy won with his rock streak and honestly, Shuji should have seen it coming and threw in a paper.”_

Joshua shows Jeonghan a warning look, pulling his torso backwards so their daughter wouldn’t hear. The sheepish smile on Jeonghan’s face assumes himself guilty.

_“I couldn’t watch them fight all day, love. When did you stop coming between them when they fight?”_

_“They’re old enough to settle things between them. You know this.”_

Jeonghan fails to contain his genuine laughter. _“They’re five and three, babe!”_ he rebutts, biting his lip as his best attempt not to laugh any further when Joshua begins with the dagger eyes.

In the end, Jeonghan stands from his seat, following wherever Hanji went to after completing his swimming pool, all as soon as Joshua gives a stern command to, _“Discipline your child.”_

  
  
  


Jeonghan was a great teacher.

Sometimes, Joshua really only has little to say when Jeonghan plays rough and tolerates trouble between their children, because at the end of the day, Jeonghan was better at him with disciplining their kids.

Following his husband’s order, Jeonghan walks his way to Hanji, crouches eye-level of the three year old and convinces him to _“speak with daddy”_ — his austere speech imparting willingness unto his child to obey, to reach out to his hand without protest, and to walk with him from the playroom to his parents’ bedroom.

Jeonghan directs him to stand by the end of the bed, arms raised above his head, and his eyes start to water.

 _“Papa asked me to discipline you and I agree,”_ Jeonghan begins, still crouched before his uncomfortable son. _“Do you know why, Hanji?”_

Hanji doesn’t answer.

_“What did we tell you about sharing?”_

With thick tears sitting at the edge of his eyes, Hanji carefully shakes his head _no;_ and his tears roll down his cheeks in between his quiet sobs as he listens to his father speak about the importance of sharing.

(But of course, because Jeonghan is not a perfect man, let alone a perfect parent, while given the chance now that Hanji was all ears, he doesn’t miss to apologize for letting him and Shuji compete and for tolerating his child’s prejudicial bad boy agenda.)

  
  


There’s more to disciplining a child — the kind that goes without having to scold on the end of the parents and without having to cry on the end of the child.

There’s discipline embodied in the way a person is meant to live: brushing one’s teeth as many times as the dentist recommends, helping out with the household chores, eating at the proper hours, and knowing when to stop with play time — and all of this is mastered first, this time, by Joshua.

 _“Daddy! I’m helping papa with the plates!”_ Shuji yells from the kitchen, tall as she stands on top a stool that allowed her to reach the sink; her sweet little face all smiles, anticipating her daddy’s reaction; her hands lift higher than necessary with intent to show how they bubble with the soap.

 _“Wow, you’re a real big girl now,”_ Jeonghan smiles back, all efforts to turn his head around when the rest of his body is faced towards the naughty Hanji locked inside his calves as he plays with the latter. (Little does Hanji know he’s locked for good, locked with no escape but to let his daddy win the war and brush his teeth.) (It’s okay, he’ll laugh about it as he’s tickled on his gums throughout Jeonghan’s celebratory toothbrushing process.) _“You look pretty in an apron, baby.”_

Joshua knows he meant to compliment their daughter, but he’ll take a little bit of that for himself in secret.

Besides, Jeonghan and Joshua haven’t been too sweet with each other in a while.

  
  
  


When Jeonghan and Joshua are sweet, however, Shuji gets jealous.

When Shuji was barely one, her tiny voice would cry aloud two meters from where Jeonghan and Joshua cuddled — sounds of devastation were emanating from the little mouth of saliva that sat below a bubbled phlegm blown out from her small red nose.

On the first time that this happened, one second was all it took for the married couple to figure out why, and this one second was the indicator of not only the problem, but also the solution: when her parents cuddle and kiss, Shuji cries; very much like the first moment Joshua lifted his arms off of Jeonghan’s waist and Shuji halted her distress.

Each time this happens, the couple could not really help but laugh, especially how they almost never intend to look as sweet as how they turn out to be. Besides, when it happened the first time, Joshua only came to embrace Jeonghan from behind to help him remedy his onion-chopping disaster.

Later on, Jeonghan and Joshua started doing it to tease: sharing sweet kisses in front of their child only to receive a beating (oh, the way Shuji’s little hand presses against either parent’s cheek, her full force attempt to separate the culprits). 

They never forget to appease their child with her own cuddles and kisses after though. But they have noticed, the jealousy had subsided and peace had made its home in every second Jeonghan and Joshua touch lips — all of this, the great works of the birth of Hanji.

Afterall, Shuji only wanted a friend around.

(Until this day, Jeonghan and Joshua are still slowly living and re-living out the peak moments of their romantic lives; one day after another, until they find the perfect time.)

  
  
  


Time is such a sensitive concept for this family of four.

After the announcement of Seventeen’s hiatus, every member thereof had begun pursuing various works whether or not it meant having to go solo (especially that by this time, all of them already had their solo projects prior.)

For Jeonghan and Joshua, while music was still at their core, both of them decided to settle on the low — off screen, more personal works.

Joshua became a solo singer-songwriter and producer, minus the hectic tours he used to complete with Seventeen. If not limited to the humble shows, music videos, and photoshoots to perfect, Joshua preferred holding small intimate concerts. For most part of his career, therefore, Joshua stays in a studio: a place that nevertheless demands so much irregular hours of work. Thankfully, his studio was only a few blocks away from home.

Given that he was his own boss, Joshua was more likely to bring his children to work — a practice he has developed with Shuji and Hanji, picking them up from school and bringing them to his studio when he had to stay late before finishing off.

Despite this, because Joshua can only focus on his children so much when they’re outside their home, he empathizes with his husband who counts hours every day until he’s through with work.

Jeonghan became a professor.

Pursuing his quiet passion for education, considering his degree from Hanyang University, Jeonghan had quietly pursued further education and came out a couple of years later with a Master’s degree and some classrooms of forty students each — sitting on where the professor should be, designated and assigned to impart the science of music to the younger people.

While class schedules were fixed at odd hours everyday, Jeonghan’s days were never less occupied with the number of endorsements he commits to take part of. 

Truly, while Joshua was more on screen for music, Jeonghan had his fair share of commercials and minor drama roles. If anything similar, both of them are looking forward to establishing A Warm Cup of Milk (Joshua giving up on Wine & Cheese after realizing how much work it is to manage a radio show; that he would rather share his insights as a guest than a host) — that is, when sleep is no longer a rare gem in their schedules.

No matter how occupied they seem with their daily jobs, parenting wins at the amount of time demanded from the couple.

  
  
  


Jeonghan and Joshua have gone through sleepless nights with an infant twice, and still have to manage a toddler and a preschool at present. In simple essence, their lives are holding so much work and there are barely enough hours in a day.

 _“I miss you,”_ Jeonghan would say every night, warm breath tickling the sensitive skin on Joshua’s neck. _“I don’t understand myself sometimes. I’m with you everyday, but still, I miss you.”_

Joshua would turn to face him then, returning Jeonghan’s embrace and adding in a few soft kisses. _“I get that, love,”_ he’d reply sweetly, validating his husband’s concern. _“A couple more years and we can date each other again like we were back then.”_

Joshua always knew the words to comfort him. True enough, more experienced parents had always told them parenting would be easier the moment their children reach their elementary years. (Rationale, their children will learn to fend for themselves then; or at least, learn how to feed themselves without their parents’ help.)

 _“Every time I’m at work, I can’t help but look at my watch,”_ Jeonghan would continue, the saddest voice he’s mustering not to come out. _“And when I come home, there’s always only a few hours left until bed time.”_

_“We feed the kids and play a while. Little do we know, we already have to send them to sleep.”_

It’s true. Joshua always came home ahead of Jeonghan and cooking was a task he volunteered to complete; and by the time Jeonghan comes, it’s dinner.

 _“Hours slow down when I’m out and I think of you and our children,_ ” Joshua would add, and Jeonghan agrees to a painfully deep level.

_“I want them to grow quickly so I can spend more time with you, but at the same time, I want to pause their ages because it’s sad to see them grow so fast.”_

_“Time really kicks us straight in the balls sometimes, babe. It’s so sad, but what do we do?”_

Every night they ask the same thing again and again, and for every time that they do, they tell each other the same answer: _“We’ll have to live through it, love.”_

While it’s not the happiest thought to get them by, just the fact that they’re living _together_ and going through their days _together_ is the most touching comfort they could settle with nevertheless.

And every time they speak of this, they accept the fate of a husband and a parent in a solemn prediction: matching this with a good night’s kiss, in steadfast love, they tell each other,

_“_ _Tomorrow, I’ll miss you.”_

**Author's Note:**

> if you’re reading this, i’ll assume you’ve read through the entire story and this is where !!! i Thank You so much for checking this work out.
> 
> i haven’t done anything ao3 in MONTHS and i admit that i’ve gone a little rusty, but i hope you liked my ... come back ... nevertheless!!!
> 
> if you did, i’d appreciate your kudos and comments now more than ever. (i would need it even, if not to acquaint myself again in this website... to boost confidence in writing as well.) (and seriously, how are the people on ao3 these days? are you good? i hope you are!)
> 
> thank you again, have the bestest days ahead, and please, stay safe & healthy!
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/je000nghan) | [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/je000nghan) | [twt filo au acc](https://twitter.com/yoonhong_) | [ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/F1F7OQ52)


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